1. Let me begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to the National Democratic Institute and the Club of Madrid for organising and inviting me to this meeting of the African Statesmen Initiative. I am also particularly grateful for the special invitation by His Excellency President Amadou Toumani Toure; with whom I worked on a different assignment some 3 years ago.
2. Excellencies, during this Summit we will be addressing some issues of great significance to Africa under the theme: "Leadership and Democratic Governance". We will explore the essentials of sustainable democracies for Africa.
3. We will also consider the paradigm shift in Africa's socio-economic development—resulting from the challenges created by, among other things, malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS epidemics.
4. Furthermore, we will review some of the initiatives, instruments and institutions that are essential for Africa's economic development. These include—but are not limited to—the International Monetary Fund, the G8, and the Millennium Development Goals.
5. For the management of our work programme, we will adopt a Panel discussions strategy. There will be 6 such Panels, as illustrated in the draft agenda:
6. Your Excellencies, although some among us have since retired from public office, there should be no doubt that we still have the desirey—and the ability—to serve Africa in a different capacity. Therefore, our primary objective now is to be helpful in maximising the benefits that our continent can derive from the global environment. There is a lot that we can contribute on the basis of experience that we accumulated over a number of yearsy—and, in deed, under very trying circumstances.
7. Your Excellencies, Ladies ad Gentlemen, at this juncture let me share with you some of my recent personal experiences. As some of you would be aware, I retired from public office on 31st of March 1998. That was after many years of dedicated service to my country.
8. I was looking forward to retire to my passionate occupation of farming. But, regrettably, I had hardly cleared my office of my bare essentials when I was assigned the responsibility to investigate the circumstances of the 1994 Rwanda genocide and the surrounding events. The traumatic experience of such a tragedy still haunts many souls—not only in our continent—but throughout the length and breath of the peace-loving world.
9. I worked very closely with H.E. President Amadou Toumani Toure on that assignment. Mr. President, I look forward to a few moments of pleasant reminiscence with you during this visit to Bamako.
10. It took us many months of hard work to produce our report and complete our assignment. It was with some alacrity that I proceeded to present our report to the Secretary General of the OAU, H.E. Dr. Salim Ahmad Salim in December 2000. My task was doney—so I thought.
11. I was, therefore, taken by surprise when the OAU Secretary General, leading a group of Congolese—whom I came to know as the Parties to the Lusaka Agreement—informed me that I had been chosen to be the Facilitator for the Inter-Congolese Dialogue.
12. That was the beginning of yet another assignment. My efforts to decline were futile. The pressure on me to accept was unbearable. I sought the protection of my President in Botswana, but to no avail.
13. With great reluctance, I acquiesced to be the Facilitator for the Inter-Congolese Dialogue for a new political dispensation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Dialogue took 3 years of painstaking negotiations, punctuated by acrimonious walk-outs and by outside interference. Worse still, the talks were peppered with an apparent lack of good faith on the part of some of the parties to the negotiations.
14. Through careful husbandry, however, involving a lot of confidence building mechanism, the Congolese parties finally concluded their negotiations. They signed The Final Act and endorsed the Resolutions arising from the negotiations, on the 2nd April, 2003 at Sun City in South Africa.
15. I had hoped to retire from my retirement when I left Sun City. However, providence being what it is, my hoped-for retirement remained a miragey—it was a mere optical illusion. I say that because I am still toiling!
16. I join you today in my capacity as The Balfour African President in Residence at the African Presidential Archives and Research Centre (APARC) at Boston University.
17. The purpose of my assignment is two-fold. First, it provides Boston University and the broader American community with access to African personalities with practical experience in—and a different insight into—the African political and economic dynamics.
18. Secondly, it provides a venue for a useful exchange of views and opinions between a wide spectrum of American personalities, on the one hand, and representatives of the African society, on the other.
19. Excellencies, I hope that very soon I will be able to retreat to my humble abode, where I can resume my simple preoccupation of raising livestock and crops. What ever the circumstances, as of now, I have no regrets. I am happy that, while I have the energy, the time and zeal, I am available to serve humanity.
20. This reconstruction of events since my retirement from the Presidency evokes a lot of memories—some very agonising, some very hilarious, and some very pleasant. I could go on endlessly. But I am cognisant of the fact that time is a scare resource to be used prudently. With this constraint in mind, I am willing to share more of these anecdotes with Your Excellencies in the corridors.
21. I thank you for your attention and I wish you very productive deliberations.